Generally, in many label printers such as mentioned above, labels stuck on a base sheet are printed in a printing section and then the base sheet is carried in the direction in which the base sheet is bent acutely, by which the printed labels are sequentially peeled off the base sheet in a peeling section to be issued from a label issuing port. This mode of issuing labels is generally referred to as "label peeled issue mode." On the other hand, the label printer may also be used in which peeling is not performed every time a printing operation is performed, rather a predetermined number of labels are continuously printed in the printing section to be issued in the state in which the printed labels are issued on the base sheet. This issue mode is generally referred to as "label continuous issue mode." In the label continuous issue mode, the labels are issued as stuck on the base sheet to be labeled later with a labeling device or the like, so that a base sheet carry path subsequent to the printing section differs from that of the label peeled issue mode. Therefore, when setting a base sheet attached with labels, it is necessary to select one of the paths that follow the printing section depending on the mode in which label issue is to be performed.
In operation, these modes differ from each other in control of label stop position for example. In the label peeled issue mode for example, control must be made such that each label stops at a position at which the trailing end of each label remains slightly attached on the base sheet, thereby preventing from peeled completed off the base sheet. On the other hand, in the label continuous issued mode, control of label printing position is of main concern, so that control must be made such that the leading edge of each label comes to the printing position when the preceding label has been printed.
Meanwhile, in the label printer of the abovementioned type, generally, a long base sheet attached with labels is set to the printer body, so that the printer body is formed with an opening surface that is opened/closed with a cover. A platen to carry this base sheet and a pinch roller pressed against this platen are installed on the printer body in a set.
The above-mentioned conventional technology involves the following problems. Conventionally, when a base sheet is set to the label peeled issue mode or the label continuous issue mode, the printer itself cannot recognize in which mode labels are to be issued. Therefore, conventionally, the issue mode is added to parameters contained in a issue command transmitted from a host, and the label printer simply selects the label peeled issue mode or the label continuous issue mode by interpreting this command. As a result, to change the issue modes, the setting state of the base sheet and the system on the host side must be changed, making label printing operation inconvenient.
In addition, to set a base sheet on the conventional label printer, the cover must be opened first, the pinch roller must be detached from the platen manually, and, while maintaining this state, the leading edge of the base sheet fed in the printer body must be inserted in the narrow gap between the platen and the pinch roller. This lowers the operational efficiency of label printing. If the base sheet carrying path is bent, the base sheet inserting work lowers the operational efficiency even further.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a label printer that can recognize the label peeled issue mode and the label continuous issue mode without adding a parameter specifying one of the label issue modes to a label issue command.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a label printer that facilitates selective setting of a base sheet attached with labels between execution of the label peeled issue mode and execution of the label continuous issue mode.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a label printer that facilitates setting of a base sheet.